Fairs and Festivals in Sri Lanka in 2019

Sri Lanka is home to four main religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and also Christianity. This means there is a lot more public holidays every year – 25 actually! Several of these holidays are festivals that can be appreciated by one & all. With so many occasions as well as festivals in Sri Lanka in 2019, we are here to assist you whittle down your bucket list, with our handpicked selection of the best points to do across the country.

So, given here are 9 such wonderful
festivals & fairs in Sri Lanka that you must visit on your next get away.

Festivals in Sri Lanka

Here is list of fairs and festivals in Sri Lanka in 2019

1.Vesak Poya – Festival of lights (Buddhist)

Vesak Poya festival in Sri Lanka

Vesak is the Poya festival that drops
on the moon of the month of March. According to the Buddhist moon calendar,
it’s the first moon of the New Year. Vesak Poya is a triple festival of Buddha.
It is on this particular day that Buddha was born, located enlightenment, after
that many years later on died. The Vesak festival takes over the city and the most
of the island. Every home and also place of business hangs white paper lanterns
that are lit up at night. Areas like Baudaloka Mawata and Biera Lake are
specially decorated.

When: Full moon of May Where: Throughout the island, however festivals in Colombo are on a grand scale

2. Poson Festival

Poson

Poson Poya (June) celebrates the introduction
of Buddhism to Sri Lanka. The day is celebrated at temples around the island,
but the biggest festivals go to Mihintale, where the Buddhist emissary Mahinda converted
King Devanampiya in 247 BC, developing Buddhism as the national faith of the
Sinhalese.

When: on the full moon day of June Where: Mihintale and Anuradhapura

3. Sinhala and Tamil New Year

Sinhala and tamil new year festival in sri lanka

Being a significant anniversary to celebrate the traditional New Year, Sinhala and Tamil New Year is celebrated by not only the Buddhists and Hindus alike, yet by many Sri Lankans with much pomp and excitement. The festival generally falls on the 13th or the 14th of April every year and also notes the end of the harvest season and spring. The whole island will certainly be permeated with a joyful atmosphere as peoples get ready for the upcoming events by cleaning decorating houses, making traditional dishes and sweets, etc.

4.
Kataragama Esala Festival

Explore Kataragama Esala

One of the most significant Hindu
festivals in Sri Lanka, it brings in countless devotees from throughout the
island to the holy town of Kataragama in southerly Sri Lanka over a two-week
period. Peoples from all major faiths look for divine assistance and penance
from the deity by delighting in rituals like skin-piercing as well as acts of
self-mutilation.

When: July or August Where: Kataragama town in Southern Sri Lanka

5. Maha Shivarathri Festival of Shiva

Maha Shivarathri in Sri Lanka

Maha Shivarathri is the celebration of
the Hindu god Shiva. Festivities take place in June in the Hindu Shiva temples
around the island. Devotees take a filtration bath at dawn and also fast all
the time. A lot of them participate in mediation rituals with the help of the
Panchakshara mantra “Om Nama Shivaya”. Shiva statuaries are also
bathed in milk as well as honey as well as covered in red vermillion to
represent purification of the soul.

When: March Where: Throughout the island

6.
Deepavali/ Diwali (Hindu)

Explore Deepavali Festival in Sri Lanka

Deepavali is the Hindu festival of lights;
it is the celebration of Lord Rama’s loss of Ravana, representing the loss of
light over darkness. Houses will certainly be embellished with little clay
lamps and structures as well as roads are brightened in festival. In Western calendars,
it takes place usually in October or November.

When:
Sunday, 27 October

7.
Galle Literary Festival

Must Visit Galle Literary Festival Sri Lanka

Galle Literature Festival will
certainly be just one of the ultimate events in Sri Lanka in 2019. Drawing
together both Asian as well as Western winters, this yearly literary fest is a
five-day spectacular celebrating the magic of the written word. An edge style
occasion, Galle Literature Festival has actually been competing over one
decade, using an intimate ambience where reading lovers can meet worldwide
writers, talk about much-loved publications as well as discover new works from
noted as well as fledgling writers.

8.
Independence Day

Sri Lanka Independence Day Festival

Sri Lanka celebrates its freedom from
Colonial policy in absolutely spectacular fashion, with a yearly procession
that takes place across the island. Most definitely among the most effective
household occasion in Sri Lanka, this special event of freedom takes place most
spectacularly in Colombo, where the country’s President delivers an essential
televised speech to the Sri Lankan peoples. Yet regardless of where you go, you
can witness the Freedom Day festivals, with numerous flag-hoisting ceremonies,
military parades, canon fire shows, firework displays and also cultural
performances taking place across the country.

9.
Atman Festival

Visit Atman Festival in Sri lanka

Atman festival is a tribal festival
that originates from an international organization with the purpose of
developing a new musical measurement within the tropical paradise known as Sri
Lanka, alongside focused efforts on charity help and also eco-sustainable
projects that improve livelihoods.

A whole week of art, music and also
performances include spirits from throughout the world that share a distinct
experience bringing together the pleasures in discovering a new, different reality.

Sri
Lankan Festivals Month by Month

Sri Lanka having a history as long as
many ancient civilizations, positioning in the crossroad of the East and also
the West, as well as being a modern society, celebrates a wide variety of festivals,
ceremonies as well as events.

January

Thai Pongol – A Hindu festival that honours Surya (the sun god), Indra (bringer of rains) and the cow. It is celebrated in temples by food preparation first from the brand-new harvest in milk, in a special pot.

February

Independence
Day – Celebrates the independence acquired in 1948
on 4th of February. There are many celebrations happening around the country on
this special holiday.

Navam
Perahera: Is a Perahera organized by the Gangaramaya
Holy Place in Colombo. This is a very vivid as well as vibrant pageant where dazzlingly
dressed elephants as well as professional dancers parade the streets of
Colombo.

March

Medin Poya – marks Lord Buddha’s first
browse through to his father’s place after his enlightenment.

April

Bak
Poya – celebrates Lord Buddha’s second visit to Sri
Lanka.

Avurudu
(Sinhala and Tamil New Year): Is a festival
celebrated by both Sinhalese as well as Tamils in Sri Lanka. This celebrates
the Sunlight God’s passage from “Pisces” to “Aries” and
also is likewise a harvest thanksgiving celebration. Lots of games and
activities are arranged all over Sri Lanka during this period.

May

Full Moon Vesak Poya Day: Memorializes the birth, knowledge as well as death of the Lord Buddha.

June

Full Moon Poya Day: Commemorates the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka by “Arahath Mahinda” who is the son of the great “King Ashoka”. During this time lots of religious tasks are arranged around Sri Lanka and also the streets are decorated with stunning lights and pandals.

July

Kataragama
Festival: Elephants in bright colors, fire dancers,
drummers etc. do at the festival. Fans that have made pledges reveal their
commitment to the Gods of the Holy place by rolling on warm sand, strolling on
coals after fasting as well as bathing in the Menik Ganga River and some
puncture their flesh and swing from sharp hooks. The festival ends the
following day with the water-cutting event to request for rain.

August

Esala
Perahera: Is one of one of the most glamorous cultural
pageants on the world. The Perahera is there for 10 consecutive evenings. The
first six nights are known as Kumbal Perahera and the other 4 evenings as
Randoli Perahera, with the final evening having about 100 parading elephants
adorned in elegant costumes. This event is arranged to enable explorers to pay
homage to the “Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha”.

Nikini
Poya – marks the resort of the Bhikkhus following
Lord Buddha’s death and also is a period of fasting and also retreat for monks.

Vel
Festival: Is a religious celebration of Hindus, held
in Colombo. This is the procession where the god of war brings his Vel (trident
tool) from the Muthuvinayagam Swami Kovil in Sea Street, Pettah to Kathiresan
in Bambalapitiya or Wellawatta. The procession happens during the day.

September

Binara Poya – celebrates Lord Buddha’s
journey to paradise.

October

Deepavali – is the Hindu Event of
Light (equivalent to the Indian Diwali), which celebrates the homecoming of
Rama, the hero of the fantastic Hindu epic the Ramayana.

November

IL Poya – celebrates Lord Buddha’s
ordination of 60 devotees.

December

Sri Pada Pilgrimage (Adam’s Peak): The pilgrimage of Adam’s Top, a national as well as unmissable event in Sri Lanka. Along with being a popular tourist trekking for its scenic views of the surrounding area, it is Sri Lanka’s largest religious expedition. It begins on the full moon of December until the moon of April.